The Year of the BookAndrea Cheng HMH Books for Young Readers

When a social shift at school leaves Anna without her best friend, she turns to books for companionship. When she feels pressure in Chinese class because she doesn’t know as much as the other kids, books are her refuge. But as the people in Anna’s life begin to experience troubles of their own, she learns that sometimes, just like the heroes in her stories, she must step out into the unknown and offer help. Sometimes, Anna learns, this is precisely what makes for the best friendships.

Anna charmed me from the first page. I loved the descriptions of the stories she read, and though … Continue reading →

This week our family had to make a difficult decision. Our Siamese-Russian Blue cat battled serious health issues for some time. Because of her age, it wasn’t wholly unexpected. But she was in great pain, and we couldn’t let her continue to suffer. We said goodbye and brought her to our vet’s office to be humanely put to sleep.

She’d been a member of our family for nearly thirteen years, and we love and miss her. Probably none more so than her feline companion, who is now alone during the days for the first time since she was a kitten.

So… in honor of our loss, I’ve made a list of memorable cats in literature. Hope you enjoy.

Appreciating the Little Things

While thinking about how to start this blog post, something popped into my mind: how it’s so part of our nature to take things for granted. We expect the sun to rise every morning. If we have running water, we expect it to come out of the pipe when we open the spigot. If you live in the Western World, you might add driving to work every day, obtaining the latest technology, or ordering anything you want from Amazon. But after living in Chile for thirty-seven years, I’ve learned to be grateful for little things. Amazing as it might sound, one of those little things is books.

The Book Thief Markus Zusak Knopf Books for Young Readers Published March 14, 2006 (Orig. published 2005)

A mysterious narrator gives an account of a young girl who has an unusual vice: she steals books. Death comes for the girl’s brother as she and her mother wait for a train to take them to a foster home where the children will be safe. It is he, the collector of souls, who is the only witness to the girl’s first thievery, and he begins to follow her story.

Life in Liesel’s new home is a difficult adjustment, plagued with nightmares, but through them, she and her foster father … Continue reading →